Traces – by Puru Agarwal

Disability is a state of mind, as shown by a Bharatanatyam dancer and the author of her novel

The galaxy of Indian short films is vast, full of hideous works and wonders. Several short films featuring well-known names from the Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali film industry, have enabled the genre to carve its own small place in the heart of moviegoers. Traces by very young director Puru Agarwal from Pune might have what it takes to be a web hit.

Launched on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, this short encompasses so many different worlds in 2 minutes and 14 seconds. It aims to promote the dignified life of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development. Traces quotes a famous saying by Mark Ingliss, the man from New Zealand who had lost both of his legs when he was only 23 and was trapped in an ice cave by a blizzard for 14 days.

Rather than see his loss of limbs as debilitating, Ingliss decided to become the first double amputee to climb Mount Everest. It’s time that we rethink the definition of disabled. “After all what are limitations? It’s all in the mind,” Ingliss says. Like the characters created by Agarwal, a Bharatanatyam dancer and the author of her novel. It’s up to us to break past these barriers.